1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally involves a gasket retention arrangement for use in securely maintaining a gasket against a planar surface. More particularly, the invention pertains to a refrigerator door liner having an outwardly projecting flange including a plurality of spaced apertures for securing the liner to a refrigerator door panel with a gasket therebetween.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Refrigerator door liners having integrally formed flanges for use in securing the liner to a door panel with a gasket therebetween are known in the art. In such arrangements, the flange is planar and includes a plurality of spaced apertures through which tie-down screws or other fasteners extend for fixedly securing the liner to the door panel, with a gasket being provided between the liner flange and panel. When such a straight, flat flange is used, there is a tendency for the flange, which is generally formed from plastic, to not hold the door gasket in full, intimate contact with the door panel when the screws are tightened. In practice, the gasket tends to be securely maintained between the door liner and panel at and closely adjacent to the tie-down screws but loose therebetween mainly due to bulging or flexing of the liner.
One possible solution to this problem would be to provide additional tie-down screws so that the distance between adjacent screws is reduced. Unfortunately, this solution adds additional cost in the form of the screws themselves and the additional installation time required. One known prior art arrangement provides an elongated metal plate atop the flange through which the tie-down screws extend. Since the metal plate is more rigid than the plastic flange, liner bulging or flexing is minimized and this results in a better seal. Unfortunately, this arrangement also increases cost by requiring an additional structural element to be used, and also requires additional assembly time since the apertures in the metal plate and the flange have to be aligned.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a gasket retention arrangement which can securely maintain a gasket in intimate contact against a surface without the need for additional structural components or substantial added costs.